Difficult or Effortless?

A few years ago I attended an Australia versus China gymnastics meet, and the thing that struck me the most was, that while the Australians made everything look technically difficult, the Chinese made the same moves look effortless.

Both teams however, made for a spectacular evening of competition.

I'm wondering if the same applies to elite skaters.

Off the top of my head, Kristi Yamaguchi comes to mind. I remember seeing one of her best performances at the 1992 US Nationals in person, where, after landing 7 triples in the free, she barely broke a sweat.

gordeeva/grinkov were always praised for making everything look effortless despite the difficulty and the huge size difference. gordeeva herself is still praised for such. it takes a special strength and talent to make difficult things look easy.

I agree with all above. For me Yuna Kim comes the closest to those great skaters mentioned. And let's face it. She's the only one to be praised for her effortlessness on ice by skating/non-skating media around the world in recent history of FS-hello, remember the olympics and worlds09? She absolutely qualifies for the list of skaters who make difficult things look so easy no matter what she does on the ice.

G&P, G&G, and Yuna Kim, what all these skaters mentioned above have in common is great skating skills. IMO, ability to create natural flow over the ice serves as a foudation for making all the moves effortless.

G&P, G&G, and Yuna Kim, what all these skaters mentioned above have in common is great skating skills. IMO, ability to create natural flow over the ice serves as a foudation for making all the moves effortless.

I would also mention Klimova & Ponomarenko. Their programs always had such an amazing range of steps, edges, handholds, etc but they were so smooth and effortless. The best example might be their famous 1987 OSP (Viennese Waltz) which was made into the Golden Waltz compulsory dance. Many ice dancers say that it's harder than an entire free dance.

I think effortless skating is what I'm looking for when I watch a skater. The ease in the moves, the flowless technic are what make a skater interesting to watch. That way I feel the artistry better and that transcends the sport.
G&G, Yu Na Kim, G&P, K&P, Torvill & Dean also as well as Mao Asada and some other I forget, are all very "easy" to watch because they just skate like they breath.

G&G, Yu Na Kim, G&P, K&P, Torvill & Dean also as well as Mao Asada and some other I forget, are all very "easy" to watch because they just skate like they breath.

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Miss Asada's jumps have been quite painful to watch for last couple of years though.
She does have nice bouncy knees but knee action isn't exactly my definition of effortless skating. Then again, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

I would also mention Klimova & Ponomarenko. Their programs always had such an amazing range of steps, edges, handholds, etc but they were so smooth and effortless. The best example might be their famous 1987 OSP (Viennese Waltz) which was made into the Golden Waltz compulsory dance. Many ice dancers say that it's harder than an entire free dance.

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They were wonderful too.
I have seen numerous GW over the years performed by best ice dance teams of respective eras, but still haven't seen one that can match that of K&P.

Miss Asada's jumps have been quite painful to watch for last couple of years though.
She does have nice bouncy knees but knee action isn't exactly my definition of effortless skating. Then again, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Ah, I see. They aren't extraordinary criteria after all. But I guess you just apply them selectively.

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Are you wondering why Miss Asada didn't make my list, by any chance?

I think strength of her skating lies in her soft knees, but I feel that she relies on it too much rather than getting the most out of her edges. Some people may find vertical body action that results from this tendency interesting, but it isn't my cup of tea.

It depends on the elements. Yuna makes speed and a triple-triple combo look easy. Sasha and Michelle had effortless spirals. Alissa and Stephane have spins. Patrick and Takahiko make deep edges look natural.

If we're including all elements, I don't know if any skaters have effortless skating overall. Everyone has a weakness in something.

On the top of my head, Shizuka Arakawa comes to my mind, as well as Yuka Sato. Of course, Kim and Kwan as well, but I don't feel so at "ease" watching those 2

In pairs, Elena and Anton, though they're inconsistent they seemed to skate on air. It was breathtaking.

I too agree with K&P, and I'm sort of discovering G&P right now. I couldn't get them when I was younger and I thought their results was part of , but they're amazing and technically the strongest ice dancers ever, imho